New Media M.A. Research Blog | Media Studies, University of Amsterdam | 2010

The Future of the eBook

Alternative title: How can the eBook be the future? Only a few days ago I came across this video, produced by IDEO, narrating this particular organization’s vision on the future of the book. By presenting three different designed interfaces...

By Ourania on 10/18/10 Comments Off

Truthy: Policing Misinformation, One Meme-ing Tweet At a Time

“Swiftboaters beware!” The battle to control Congress is on and this election year the truth is about to get Truthier. Twitter – the social media network, twenty-four-hour news site, conversation and blogging platform, wedding and death announcement site, gossip...

By Ekaterina Yudin on 10/18/10 2

Electronic Paper to the Rescue!

Digital publishing is trying to replace centuries of ink printed publishing, however many people are still skeptical to this idea of digital publishing, and remain loyal to the ‘old’ book, mostly because they...

By Bob Nefkens on 10/17/10 1

Towards the end of books?

Definition of a book: a number of sheets of paper, parchment, etc. with writing or printing on them, fastened together along one edge, usually between protective covers Definition of an e-book: A small, portable device onto which the contents...

By Mares Kahrel on 10/17/10 2

Futureader

Whether they are hard or soft cover, thick or thin, large or small, heavy or light, old or new, owned or borrowed – the traditional book exists in all shapes, forms and genres. The e-book lacks this spectrum of...

By Agathe Wiedemair on 10/17/10 1

Fashion is on the street: Fashion bloggers seated front row

Something has changed in the fashion industry. Since 2002 blogging about fashion started and has become more and more popular. In 2003 fashion blogger Kathryn Finney of the Budget Fashionista was invited to the New York Fashion Week....

By Hanneke Mertens on 10/17/10 12

Inkscape adventure continued…

If you have been reading my recent post about my Inkscape adventure you know that this adventure didn’t go quite as well as I expected it to go. I must admit that this was mainly because of the fact...

By Laila Koubia on 10/17/10 3

Romancing The Book

We shuffle into the queue of people leaving the plane and I notice my neighbour’s Jonathan Franzen paperback peeking out of the seat back. “Hey, you left your book behind,” I say. She winks, “That’s the idea”. In...

By Natalie Dixon on 10/17/10 3

iPad Challenges Authentic Bed Time Stories

When I saw my little niece getting read aloud by my uncle’s iPad, I wondered how this could affect the way she is being raised. If iPads and other digital devises take over the task of parents, would it...

By Jorien De Wandeler on 10/17/10 Comments Off

Will our gadgets ever really converge?

Yo dawg, I heard you like e-mail, so we put e-mail on your Macbook, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, so you can e-mail while you e-mail! Substitute the word e-mail with, music, movies, chat, e-reading, calling and video recording,...

By Cendy Calis on 10/17/10 Comments Off

iPad vs. e-reader

Since 13 juli in the Netherlands the battle between the long expected iPad and several e-readers has started. But what are actually the downsides of the iPad as an e-reader or the downsides of an e-reader as an iPad?...

By Xander Stolwijk on 10/17/10 2

E-books – The Black Market. Can We Stop It?

Along with the growth of the popularity of e-books as well as iPad, e-reader and other devices that allow for reading digital publications on the screen there is a huge increase in books piracy, what causes enormous losses for...

By Michal Kielbasa on 10/17/10 Comments Off

If it Looks Like a Book, and Reads Like a Book, is it a Book?

The death of the book has been foreseen: Several sources have predicted the demise of the book as we know it, like a modern Nostradamus. However, this is not the first time in history that we have heard this...

By Marte Lindstrom on 10/17/10 2

Non-commercial licensing on Creative Commons

What would life be without Bach? Far from any discussion of the aura, the only reason I have ever heard Bach is that his compositions have been relentlessly copied, passed down the generations, re-interpreted, re-adapted for new instruments (piano,...

By Ashiq Khondker on 10/16/10 2

Wikipedia, we have a Google refresh problem!

What did the web crawler say to Wikipedia? I'll update you later! So the question is … just how much later?! I'm wondering because there seems to be a discrepancy between just how fast Wikipedia bots/editors seem to shoot down...

By Isobel Gorman on 10/16/10 7

Journalism 2.0 – A Field in Transition

Let's say it is Friday night, 7pm. All shops are closed and every normal working person went home to enjoy the weekend. Some people are heading home for dinner with their families, others are having drinks with friends. And...

By Caroline Goralczyk on 10/16/10 1

Out with the bookcase: More living space, even more books!

Let me tell you a story about my sister. Isn’t that a good introduction to a blog, share a story with complete strangers online involving private family matters? Though she may not like it, I won’t give her name...

By Hans Terpstra on 10/16/10 3

E-readers and e-books for education

Firstly, I need to say that I love to read and I love technology. So isn’t an e-reader the perfect combination of both? Isn’t it the perfect compromise between the small screen of an iPhone or iPod Touch and...

By Anne Lukas on 10/16/10 7

Digital text and Language Learning

The replacement of printed text by digital text might strike us as another carefully manufactured revolution, but those who have had a lifelong use of communications and media technologies surrounding them might not be as intimidated by this transition...

By Bram van der Kruk on 10/16/10 Comments Off

Twitter: an insignificance awareness engine?

@MA_Mel ahaahh nice my twitter makes you smile. If only it made men undress too!!10:17 PM Aug 4th via web from Garment District, New York in reply to MA_Mel Mentioning your whereabouts, describing your breakfast, sharing links, and replying to other...

By ibtisam omer on 10/15/10 Comments Off

Twitter: how it supports a fast spread of news

Last summer we had the Carglass-Twitter-incident in the Netherlands, which was caused by three Twitter-users. Two of them posted some negative tweets about the Dutch company Carglass and used the #carglasszuigt, next to that the third user created a...

By Hanneke Mertens on 10/15/10 Comments Off

An aerial view of Twitter addiction

You’ve heard all of the jargon – “get connected,” “stay connected,” “connect with friends and family,” etc., etc. Any one of these phrases could be applied to Twitter, Facebook, blogging or you local cell phone carriers marketing tactics. Clearly...

By Megan Adams on 10/15/10 3

The Future of Hacking

Data theft, child pornography, spying on governments and spreading destructive computer viruses. When thinking of the term 'hacking', we usually think of internet crime, computer breakdowns and some geeks sitting in front of their laptop looking for a fresh...

By Caroline Goralczyk on 10/15/10 Comments Off

Talking Water on Blog Action Day 2010

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to spare. Blog Action Day is upon us, and this October 15th, the world is taking to the web and talking water! Tweet me some water? Not possible. But we can talk water. It’s a...

By Ekaterina Yudin on 10/15/10 2